A Talking Horse, Genie, Witch. Who Comes Up With This Goofy Stuff?

Forbes

9 hours ago

1965: American actor Barbara Eden holds her hands up and smiles while lying on her stomach on top of cushions on an oriental rug, in a promotional portrait for the television series 'I Dream of Jeannie'. Eden is dressed in a green genie costume. Colorful vases surround her. (Photo by) Getty Images
The sixties were one of the most creative periods for art in modern American history. Mostly known for innovative music, now called "classic rock," the decade also broke meaningful ground in the areas of dress, pop culture, literature, movies and more. The sixties reminds this journalist of the fertile twenties in American literature with Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck and the like.
What isn't acknowledged much is the outrageous creativity of sixties television comedy series. Think about the goofiness of "Green Acres" (sophisticated New Yorkers moving to a rural farm), "I Dream Of Jeannie" (an astronaut and a genie) and "Mr. Ed" (a man with a talking horse). What minds came up with that stuff, I can't imagine, but there was a refreshing innocence about the shows, and, to this day, many are still in syndication.
I picked out five of the more memorable to look at, listed below in random order.
(1) "I Dream Of Jeannie": With the Cold War space race between the U.S. and former Soviet Union in full swing, this series had some relativity to the time period. It ran for five seasons on NBC, starting in 1965.
Major Anthony Nelson, an astronaut played by Larry Hagman, later to star in 'Dallas,' becomes stranded on a remote island when his reentry capsule meanders off-course. While on the island, he finds a bottle that's washed up on shore. When he uncorks it, out pops actress Barbara Eden, a beautiful genie dressed in Persian garb who helps rescue him and is his willing "slave" going forward.
Her efforts at pleasing him push Nelson into some hysterical situations, often not of his choosing. Particularly funny is that nobody else is aware of her except his astronaut peer, Roger Healy (actor Bill Daily). This endlessly frustrates one of Nelson's superiors, Dr. Bellows, who suspects mischief but can never prove it, and is constantly embarrassed by trying. Hence the line: "He's doing it to me again." That relationship is one the funnier parts of the show, which aired on NBC from 1965 to 1970.
UNITED STATES - MARCH 26: BEWITCHED - "If the Shoe Pinches" - Season Six - 3/26/70, A suspicious Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) forced a leprechaun to take back a pair of shoes that made Darrin lazy., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
(2) 'Bewitched:" In a similar vein, ad executive Darrin Stephens unknowingly marries a beautiful witch, Samantha, played by actress Elizabeth Montgomery. Samantha tries to be a normal housewife, but her heritage of spells and family witch characters gets in the way, often leading Darrin into unusual situations. Again, nobody else knows she's a witch.
The Bellows fall guy here is Darrin's boss, Larry Tate, who suspects something but can never prove it. Let's see, a secret witch and a secret genie. Can't get more out there than that. "Bewitched' ran on ABC from 1964 to 1972.
Bamboo Harvester wearing a pilgrim costume, with a hat and a cape, in a publicity portrait issued for the US television series, 'Mr Ed', USA, circa 1963. The sitcom starred Bamboo Harvester as 'Mr Ed'. (Photo by Silver) Getty Images
(3) 'Mr. Ed:" Well, maybe you can get more out there. Architect Wilbur Post (actor Alan Young) discovers that he has a talking horse named Mr. Ed. Like in the first two series above, nobody hears Ed except Wilbur, who often is heard talking to Ed and then asked by his wife and friends to whom was he just speaking. There is never any explanation as to why the horse could talk or why it was so sophisticated in its syntax. Nevertheless, the series ran for six seasons on CBS beginning in 1961, and today is considered a cult classic.
(Original Caption) A scene from the long-running television series Green Acres. The series, which ran from 1965-1971, starred Eva Gabor as "Lisa Douglas," and Eddie Albert as "Oliver Douglas." In this scene, the Douglas couple examine a primitive washer with their farming neighbors, Hank Patterson as "Fred Ziffel," and Barbara Pepper as "Doris Ziffel." Publicity handout, circa 1965-1969. Bettmann Archive
(4) 'Green Acres:" A rich couple played by actors Eddie Arnold (Oliver Wendell Douglas) and Eva Gabor (Lisa) abruptly leaves their New York penthouse and moves to a poor farm in Hooterville. Being a farmer had always been a dream of Oliver's. He tries hard to cope with the 180-degree shift in lifestyle, but coming to grips with it is difficult, and laugh-out-loud funny. The couple wears their fancy New York clothes while doing farm chores, for example, and are baffled by Mr. Haney, a local hustler who constantly is peddling things the Douglas' don't need, and giving them absurd farm advice. The network was CBS, and the series ran from 1965 to 1971.
HOGAN�S HEROES. Bob Crane as Col. Robert E. Hogan, left, Werner Klemperer as Col. Wilhelm Klink in �The Late Inspector General�, June 22, 1965. (Photo by CBS) Getty Images
(5) "Hogan's Heroes:" This one was a little more risqué. It ran six seasons on CBS starting in 1965. The premise: A group of "captured" Allied forces are housed in a WWII German concentration camp, Stalag 13. These prisoners, commanded by American Col. Hogan (actor Bob Crane), don't try to escape, rather secretly help the western movement by feeding allies valuable information they garner in camp. The bumbling German officers in charge, Sgt. Schultz and Col. Klink, are oblivious to what's going on, and that's where the comedy comes in. "Hogan's Heroes" paved the way later for "Mash," a more serious dramady about Korean War doctors.
There were other sixties shows with wacky premises, too. Honorable mentions go to "The Beverly Hillbillies" (a poor family discovers oil on its Texas property and moves to Hollywood), "Gilligan's Island' (a three-day boat tour turns into being stranded on a desert island for years), and "Get Smart" (a spoof on Cold War spy activities).